ROANOKE, Va. – Family Promise of Greater Roanoke is helping homeless families in the Roanoke area get into permanent housing with a $20,000 grant Clayton Homes gave the group in January.
Family Promise of Greater Roanoke, a nonprofit that’s helped the Roanoke area, is using the funds for its program called ‘A Future Begins at Home.’ Families can apply for money from the program to help them with things like a deposit for a new place or even paying a past-due utility bill that prevents them from getting water or electricity.
“So, a lot of people who have become homeless, one of the obstacles they have is with past due utility bills, they can’t get a new utility account until those past due bills are paid off, and so we can help them clear those expenses so that they’re eligible to get that into a new home,” said Executive Director Amy Morgan with Family Promise of Greater Roanoke.
The group received the grant in January from Clayton Homes but started working with families through the grant in March.
Morgan said Family Promise of Greater Roanoke anticipates serving 25 to 35 families.
Housing Stability Manager Chris Stewart with Family Promise of Greater Roanoke screens people who need funding.
“This grant is a blessing for us because we’re able to help families before possible homelessness, before becoming unhoused or receiving an eviction or receiving a cutoff notice for a utility bill,” said Stewart.
If you need assistance, you can apply through December 2025, unless the funds run out before then.
“There is a lot of homelessness that doesn’t look like living in a shelter, and we do want to make sure that those families are also reached out to and prevent them from getting to the point that they do require a shelter situation. So, helping to meet them sooner [rather] than later allows us to get them stable, get them into housing, get their lives back on track so that they’re not living in a sheltered room unhoused,” said Morgan.
To apply, you can call Family Promise of Greater Roanoke, and you’ll be screened over the phone.
You must have children under 18 years old living with you, or you must be pregnant. You must be able to work or have a regular income within a month of entry. You cannot have felony charges against you. You must also be experiencing homelessness, which can include sleeping in a car, staying with friends or relatives, or staying in a hotel.
The amount of money people receive will be on a case-by-case basis. Morgan said if it’s a large fund, they’ll work with community organizations to get the funding for them.
In addition to financial support that you could receive, the program will also help you identify the largest barrier to finding housing, and there are regular classes to help you sharpen your skills, which will help you get into housing. There are also case managers who will help you.
Family Promise of Greater Roanoke helps people experiencing homelessness mainly through its shelter program. The group helps four families or up to 14 people at a time, where they stay with different religious organizations, on a rotational basis once a week. Family Promise of Greater Roanoke is currently working with 20 congregations in the Roanoke Valley area for the shelter program.
The average length of stay through the shelter program is 60 days. Morgan said that since the inception of Family Promise of Greater Roanoke in 1998, the group has served 657 families, which includes 1,268 children. Seventy-five percent or more of those families moved into permanent housing upon shelter exit. Last year, the group served 17 families in the shelter program, which included 20 adults and 37 children.
With the grant from Clayton, Family Promise of Greater Roanoke can serve even more people.
“Adding the Clayton Homes program will allow us to almost double the impact that we’ve been seeing in the last couple [of] years,” said Morgan.
In February, Habitat for Humanity dedicated two homes to Family Promise of Greater Roanoke. The group will allow families to rent the homes for six to 12 months so they can attain a rental history and go into other permanent housing in the future.